“No blame! Ever since marrying my wife, I’ve realized I can’t I can’t keep wasting my life anymore.” Xiao Jin’s low voice carried helplessness.
He had originally wanted to shut the door and live out the days peacefully with his little girl.
The life and death of others in the marquis’s household had nothing to do with him!
But his little girl was beautiful and kind, insisting on taking over the responsibilities of the household—what could he do!
To please his little girl, he could only roll up his sleeves and work hard, supporting those spoiled step‑siblings.
“The current marquis’s wife is only twenty‑one, yet she looks older than your father. Is managing the household really that exhausting?”
“Managing the household in other mansions may not be difficult, but in ours it surely is. As the saying goes, even the cleverest wife cannot cook without rice!”
“Tsk tsk… being your stepmother is so pitiful!”
“The pitiful must have something detestable. They all chose to marry my father, so they are not innocent.” Xiao Jin’s voice was faint.
There was still a trace of coldness in his breath. Though he intended to support the people of the household, he would never forgive his first stepmother and concubine.
They were truly vicious, always wanting to kill him so their sons could inherit the marquisate.
The first stepmother deserved to die; there was nothing pitiable about her.
Perhaps she never imagined, even in her dreams, that her son and daughter would also be tormented by others.
Wen Qingwan saw the man’s expression suddenly darken, so she changed the subject: “It’s almost dinner time, I’ll go take a look…”
“Wife, you just stay happily in the household. From now on, don’t worry about the affairs of the residence—everything will be handled by your husband.”
“Husband, at most you can manage the affairs of the front courtyard. As for the back courtyard, it is more reasonable for me to handle it.”
Wen Qingwan gave her husband of this lifetime a deep look, unable to understand why he wanted to seize the household authority.
The household authority of the marquis’s residence was clearly a hot potato.
He was more handsome than the crown prince, but perhaps because the marquis’s household was too poor, he could not take a wife, nor had the silver to keep concubines.
“Once I’ve put the household in order, if we have extra silver, I’ll help you take two concubines.”
“Wife—” Xiao Jin’s voice suddenly rose a few notches, like a summer thunderstorm, abrupt and without warning, catching people off guard.
“Why are you so fierce? Do you want to fight again?” Wen Qingwan cautiously stepped back, striking a fighting pose.
"........."
Xiao Jin almost blurted out: How could I ever bear to hit you?
But the little girl didn’t care about him at all, so he didn’t want to speak and make a fool of himself.
Wen Qingwan saw his brows tightly furrowed, his eyes blazing as if gathering all dissatisfaction and anger into his gaze, wanting to fiercely strike her dead with it.
“You want to kill me? But I haven’t said anything wrong.”
“You… from now on, don’t speak of taking concubines. I cherish one lifetime, one pair. Having you in this life is enough.”
"........."
He thought the same as Wen Mingzhu, so why would he abuse her to death?
Xiao Jin saw the little girl staring at him wide‑eyed in disbelief. He sighed softly and said gently: “You… always make your husband worry.”
“So who’s really the troublesome one! I’m constantly afraid you’ll abuse me.” Wen Qingwan pouted and muttered in dissatisfaction.
“Domestic violence? Who told you that?” Xiao Jin frowned, pulled the little girl into his arms, and said: “Your husband would never abuse you.”
“Let go of me! Talking is one thing, but why are you grabbing me?” Wen Qingwan struggled in dissatisfaction, yet the man’s hands were like iron clamps.
“Master, Madam, everyone’s private property has been tallied. Unexpectedly, Second Young Master has the most.” Leng Yan entered to report.
“How much?” Wen Qingwan asked in a cold voice. Since she couldn’t break free, she stopped struggling.
“Madam… though Second Young Master’s courtyard has no grain, in his study there are several shop deeds, and even estates…”
Jin Que followed behind Leng Yan. Hearing her young lady’s question, she darted forward to answer.
She rattled on in detail, and Leng Yan and the others figured out the origins of Second Young Master’s shops and estates.
Finally, she vividly said: “Madam, you didn’t see Second Young Master’s expression… it was like swallowing a fly and having it stuck in his stomach, impossible to dig out—that kind of awkwardness and distortion.”
After Jin Que finished, she kept laughing to herself. Leng Feng clutched his stomach with laughter, and even Leng Yan lowered his head, chuckling.
Xiao Jin and Wen Qingwan had long trained themselves to keep joy and anger off their faces, remaining calm in major matters.
After hearing this, Wen Qingwan calmly ordered: “Since Second Young Master’s shops were the heir’s mother’s dowry, they should return to their rightful owner. But as the Marquis’s household is poor now, they will be confiscated.”
“Everything is as my wife decides. Do those shops need me to find someone to manage them?” Xiao Jin asked, holding her slender waist.
He finally understood: his little girl disliked him meddling in the household affairs.
“No need, I’ll find someone to manage them.” Wen Qingwan said decisively; in her past life she had many capable subordinates.
Before marriage she stayed quietly in the Wen household without taking action; now it’s the perfect time to bring those people out to help her.
“From now on, Leng Feng and Leng Yu will follow Madam. Each of you choose ten attendants, and from now on all actions will be under Madam’s command.”
“Do you have anyone else by your side?” For now, Wen Qingwan only had Jin Lan and Jin Que with her, which was indeed not enough.
“I have Leng Yan and Leng Hong. If my wife needs manpower, just say the word—I also have people from several villages.”
“Aren’t you very poor? Yet you still support people from several villages?” Wen Qingwan asked, lifting her head.
“They don’t need me to spend money on them. These years they’ve been self‑sufficient; they are all soldiers wounded on the battlefield.”
Because he held no official post, the court gave no stipend. A few years ago, during the drought, the people of those villages fled in search of survival.
“I didn’t ask for the title granted by His Majesty; I only requested those desolate villages as my fief.”
“I settled them there and gave them His Majesty’s rewards as their capital.”
"There were too many wounded soldiers—each had a household, and across several villages there were over ten thousand households."
"This year they are already self‑sufficient. If Madam ever needs grain, she can ask them for some.”
When Xiao Jin spoke of his fief, his face glowed with a satisfied smile, his eyes full of pride and triumph—nothing like the decadent image others had of him.
“Oh, then aren’t you a Marquis of Ten Thousand Households? That’s impressive!” Wen Qingwan sincerely praised.
The people of the Cheng’en Marquis’s household actually didn’t know their heir was a Marquis of Ten Thousand Households?!
Wen Qingwan knew well that in Great Sheng, the title of Marquis of Ten Thousand Households was a supreme honor, symbolizing exalted status and immense glory.
It was the highest tier of marquis in Great Sheng; without exaggeration, the title of Marquis of Ten Thousand Households was an imperial reward for great ministers, second only to being made as a King (Wang) with land.
In all of Great Sheng, only three men held the fief of ten thousand households; only a First‑Rank Duke Protector of the Nation with outstanding military merit could enjoy such a grant.
As the name suggests, within the fief of a Marquis of Ten Thousand Households there were over ten thousand families. They did not pay taxes to the court, but directly to the marquis as his income.
Moreover, a Marquis of Ten Thousand Households had the authority to mobilize personnel from his fief; in Great Sheng, fewer than ten men possessed fiefs with more than two thousand households.
“Don’t overthink it, my dear—they’re very poor.”
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